Good Little Habit
by G.A. AnimeFan4
Summary: He could never figure out if having a little addiction to ice cream was good or not. She helped him to decide. [Ryouga x OC One-Shot Request]


_A/N: This was a requested Shark x OC story by _Princess Dark Magician Girl_. She owns her Original Character (Nazca)._

_I'M SORRY IF I FAIL asdfghjklsdfgjkl__~ I'm better at angst more so than fluff (Is that bad?) but I gave it a shot..._

_Also, does anyone know how HARD it is to write someone else's OC? D: I don't know what I'm doing LOL~_

* * *

Ryouga practically grew up with ice cream.

The people who had "raised" him - he dare not call them his parents, not after he'd learned the truth - had often taken him and his sister out to buy some. Even if they weren't real memories, Ryouga often found himself engrossed in recalling the sweet taste and the happy smiles. They were times that he cherished.

Rio loved it even more, and dragged her brother down the street to a little parlor at least once or twice a week. She'd been doing that for years, _long_ before the war, and would continue to do so _long_ after.

Even when his sibling wasn't forcing him along, Ryouga sometimes discovered he was outside of a little ice cream joint and would find himself wandering inside and soon enough he'd be holding a cone while paying at the cash register.

He could never decide if it was a bad habit or not.

But Ryouga finally grasped the answer one day when he ran into someone.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's, like, a hundred degrees," Ryouga muttered back, shifting the school bag that was slung over his shoulder haphazardly. He resisted the urge to undo his tie (it was uncomfortable with the heat) and lifted a brow at the girl in front of him. "Did you get lost or something?"

"I know exactly where I am," Nazca retorted, folding her arms just below her chest indignantly. She'd adopted a new look ever since coming to live as a human on Earth. With a skirt, high boots (Ryouga kept wondering how she could wear those in this damned weather), and a somewhat girlie blouse. People fashion was a lot more fun to experiment with than Barian fashion - or so Rio claimed. Her brother just got confused when she said that.

It took a moment for him to realize that the once-Barian girl was playing with her fingers, like she was nervous or something. Ryouga scowled, unsure of why that was. Sure, he knew that Nazca was a generally shy person and had a more serious side than lot of his friends did. But why she could possibly be so awkward around him all the time was completely beyond him.

_Females are bizarre. Words to fricken live by._

Nazca puffed out one cheek. "Um...alright, I might be a _little_ turned around..."

Ryouga couldn't help but smirk slightly. "You're staying with Durbe until you get a place of your own, right?" She nodded a bit. "I'll show you the way."

"T-Thank you..."

Naturally, it had to be the _one day _his motor bike was broken down. Ryouga had planned to fix it when he got home, but that meant having to walk there in the scorching climate. He felt the need to apologize to his old comrade, but the words caught in his throat.

It was just the two of them.

Rio had stayed after to help Kotori with something, Yuuma was in a detention for 'rowdiness', and Kaito didn't even come to school. Everyone else was already gone.

"You okay?" Ryouga asked after about five minutes of utter silence between them. "You're really quiet today. I mean...you always are, but still..."

They had known each other for a good amount of time. After all, he was the Barian Lord, Nasch, and she was the Barian Priestess, Nazca. They were bound by the laws of their world and had put trust in each other from the day they first met and formed their army.

But she was still a mystery to him.

Nazca was a seemingly kind individual. She was timid, though not afraid to fight when it came down to things. She was soft, but didn't necessarily blend into a crowd and disappear. And - Ryouga would kill himself for this - she wasn't a particularly _bad_ looking lady, either.

The way the bright sunlight illuminated the yellow of her hair to a shining golden had caught his interest more than once, as did the sparkle in her wide, almost innocent eyes. And for a moment, the boy wondered if her pale skin burned easily in weather like this.

Nazca jumped softly, looking up at him. "I'm fine...!"

Was she still anxious about something? God, he was bad at this.

Ryouga looked around at his surroundings in order to _not_ come off as a total idiot. They were moving down a main road in Heartland, where shops littered the streets and lazy cars filed up and down the tar. A few trees lined the sidewalks to provide measly shade to pedestrians. The temperature was ridiculous, though, so the only people about were a few high school students hurrying home and the occasional elderly person enjoying the peace.

The young man peered up, uninterested, and read the nearest sign.

And stopped.

"What's wrong?" Nazca questioned in a low voice, halting as well. She pursed her lips, following his gaze and tilting her head to the side while she, too, studied the bulletin. "Ice cream...?"

Ryouga nodded, squinting against the harsh shine of the sun, and muttered, "Wanna grab some?"

When he didn't get an answer, the teenager shifted so he could focus on the Priestess. Nazca was staring through the large, glass windows that gave a nice view of the inside. Brightly colored booths arranged the sides of the relatively petite room, with a cashier yawning over in the corner in front of the many rows of flavors lining the wall. It was a place Ryouga knew very well - had even learned the clerk's name and could list off every type of sherbet, frozen yogurt, and ice they sold. (This was something he neglected to tell _everyone_.)

"You..._have_ had ice cream, right?"

Then it hit him.

Of _course_ she hadn't.

Ryouga was a little different from the other Barians. Well, him and his sister. They'd lived as humans before the war, before the reincarnation (technically). They'd experienced a normal life here.

But Nazca, along with the other Lords, had done her thing in ancient times that modern people read in history books and had immediately become a Barian after her first death. Barians didn't eat. Their species fed off of the energy in their _Sekkai, _not food that one had too actually cook. Hell, Barians didn't even have mouths. Didn't need 'em.

So when Ryouga blurted out that question, he instantly tried to take it back, but fumbled over the words that were never spoken. To save him from his blundering, Nazca, in that stoic fashion of her's, offered a tiny shake of the head.

"Well..." He wanted to slap himself. "Would you like to try some?" Then he quickly added, "I'll buy."

A second of her thinking it through was all it took for Nazca to come to a mental decision. "I'd like that."

With a silent sigh of relief, Ryouga motioned her to follow him as he opened the door, allowing her to enter first. The girl followed him as he meandered over to the accountant and pointed to the endless options of both classic and creative extracts. "Anything look good?"

It took her a while, but Nazca finally settled on plain vanilla after Ryouga said it was a safe flavor to begin with. He ordered himself a chocolate, in a simple sort of mood.

Both got a cone with two scoops each and Ryouga picked out his usual spot. It was the third booth, which was the last, and had one of those open windows overlooking the busy boulevard. The parlor was cool inside, a refreshing change after trekking through the heat.

Ryouga was already eating his ice cream when he noticed that Nazca was just looking at it. But he said nothing, not wanting to ruin things again. Instead, he sat back and watched as she hesitantly licked the cold dessert, blinking in surprise.

"Like it?"

"...Yes."

Ryouga just smiled as his date grew ever braver and a certain twinkle lit up in those round eyes of her's.

Wait, _what_?

When had he started calling this a _date_?

He shook his head a little, hoping Nazca wouldn't notice him doing so. She didn't, because suddenly she was gripping her hair in pain. "Ow...!"

"That's a brain freeze, stupid," Ryouga laughed, though not unkindly. "You ate too fast."

"It hurts~" Nazca pouted, puckering her lips. When the boy realized he was staring, he blushed a bit and glanced away.

"Then slow down when you eat ice cream."

He lifted a brow when she smiled slightly and giggled, lowering her hand from her long side bangs and proceeding to lick the sweet, frozen treat again.

Maybe being only slightly addicted to ice cream _was_ a good habit.

.

.

When Rio asked why Ryouga was so red in the face when he got home, he shouted that it was nothing and slammed the door to his room closed, refusing to come out for another three hours.

.

.

Nazca touched her lips later that night, recalling the feeling of them pressing against Nasch- _Ryouga's _cheek before they'd gone their separate ways.

.

.

_~Finish~_


End file.
